Vuclip Brings Mobile VOD Service In India

Vuclip, a PCCW Media company, and a video-on-demand player for emerging markets, launches its over-the-top (OTT) video-on-demand (VOD) service in India. The mobile video entertainment service called Viu —will stream as well as cache content having global titles, including the latest US and Indian TV shows.

The OTT platform follows a freemium model, according to the company. However, only some content will be available for free. Other premium portions will be paid.. FreeCharge and eBay have joined Vuclip as strategic partners. While FreeCharge will be a preferred payment wallet partner, offering a free one-month trial subscription, eBay has also signed on as a distribution partner and will offer various packages and services related to Viu.

Founder and CEO of Vuclip, Nickhil Jakatdar, said that the company aims to achieve one billion plus consumers in India by providing premium content. ”Our mission is to entertain the one billion plus consumers in India by providing them with a service that they can fall in love with. We will strive hard to push the boundaries of technology, media and experiential design through our state of the art design and technology centers in the US, India and Beijing and our global teams in over 10 countries,” he said.

Vishal Maheshwari who has recently been appointed as the Country Manager in India and is responsible for driving consumer adoption, engagement and monetization said, “The ever evolving video space in India offers the thrill of a challenge.”

“It is our endeavour to make 2016 a year of delight for the Indian audience in the entertainment and OTT space. I believe Vuclip is best positioned to make that happen,” he added.

Vuclip has a free user base of 20 million and a paying subscriber base in excess of 5 million people in India. Viu is accessible via mobile phones and tablets as well as desktops by downloading the Viu app on Google Play

The imminent launch of its OTT video on demand (VOD) service is aimed to redefine the way entertainment is consumed in the country. At present, the market potential for online content viewing in India is huge. Various factors such as smartphone penetration, launch of 4G and diverse content are the key factors that will drive the online video on demand segment in the country. Cisco’s Visual Networking Index Report (VNI) suggests that online video traffic will contribute around 65 percent of all IP traffic in India by 2018. Nearly 70 billion minutes of video content will be viewed across India per month.

Needless to say, the competition in the area of Video-on-demand services in becoming intense in India. Last week, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) announced the launch of its second OTT platform OZEE under its subsidiary Zee Digital Convergence and in January, American major Netflix started services in India.

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